Best upscaler - HD EP-30 BD S360 or Denon 1940? Help!

[admin_exported]

Hi

I am after a good upscaler for my large collection of DVDs and have been using a Toshiba XD-E500 which I like and also the HD EP-30.

I am after an upgrade and cannot decide between a Denon 1940 (or similar) or possibly a Blu Ray player that is good at upscaling maybe a BD S360 (as I am on somewhat of a budget).

Is the Blu Ray better than all of the above for sound and picture when upscaling SD DVDs as I suspect or should I stick with my EP-30 (as I am planning on selling it). My XD-E500 is staying as I simply love it!

Any other possible upgrades would be be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help. Max.

 

[lobby]

Well i use the Toshiba as well for dvds and PS3 for blu-rays and to be honest the Toshiba works much better for me also multiregion. Personally i think you won't see that much if any on a budget player, but if your planning on purchasing a lot of blu-rays then the Sony BD 360 would be good so you only have the one player. I feel that you need to spend £300 plus to acheive better results allround. I was so tempted to get a Sony BD 360 at that price but will now wait until there is a massive improvement over my PS3. The PS3 has never failed in loading any discs and with easy firmware updates, it's great, maybe not the best for audio, but ive have my system in a large bedroom, while i save for a pj and 3d system for the lounge.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

max_normal:
Hi

I am after a good upscaler for my large collection of DVDs and have been using a Toshiba XD-E500 which I like and also the HD EP-30.

I am after an upgrade and cannot decide between a Denon 1940 (or similar) or possibly a Blu Ray player that is good at upscaling maybe a BD S360 (as I am on somewhat of a budget).

Is the Blu Ray better than all of the above for sound and picture when upscaling SD DVDs as I suspect or should I stick with my EP-30 (as I am planning on selling it). My XD-E500 is staying as I simply love it!

Any other possible upgrades would be be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help. Max.

I used to have the Denon and now upgraded to the Sony S550. It's supposed to have the same upscaling capabilities as the S350 which of course was replaced by the S360. My BD player is better than the 1940 with dvds, without question. It's not night and day but it's better.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys I seem to nearly have my answer he he.

All I am wondering now is whether the S360 would be a better upscaler than the Toshiba HD EP-30.

My head is spinning with all the stuff I have read and at least now it is a lot less confusing.

Many thanks!

 

[scene]

It's not always a question of which is better in terms of upscaling - a BD or DVD player. It's possible that your screen/projecter or amp/receiver might do a better job. WHF (I think it was WHF...

) ran a head to head on this a while back with some interesting results.

For example, I've got a KRP500A and use this to upscale DVDs from my Arcam DV79. I think, on the whole, this gives better results then getting my BDP-S760 to upscale them - though it's a close thing and the jury's still out (officially) until my Kuro has done 200 hours.

What your screen and amp have you got to throw into the mix.

 

[Anonymous]

That is a nice set up there scene.

to answer you I have a Samsung 37 inch lcd LE37R88BD and Onkyo 505 Amp.

Don't think either of these will assist in the upscaling however.

 

[scene]

Thank-you max. And yes, I think you do need an upscaling source.

On that subject, the XD-E500 is a good upscaler and I suspect you'd be hard pushed to see any difference the quality of the output between it and the BDP-S360, especially on the 720p Samsung.

I'd concentrate on getting a BDP for blu-ray and hanging on to the DVD player for upscaling. If you don't want blu rays, save your pennies for a full-fat 1080p screen. If you do want blu ray, the BPD-S360 is a very good player, to be had for sub £120, but the S370 is hitting the streets soon, and that promises to be even better (with 3D upgradability - hmmm).

 

[Anonymous]

Hi max. I have the LE37R88BD in another room. I recently purchased the bd s360 and can say i can definately see an improvement over the samsung dvd player i had previously. I also have the hd-ep30 along with a panasonic 35, hooked upto a plasma and optoma projector.

I must say i prefer the 360 scaler. Perhaps thats because of the lcd tv!??

 

[Anonymous]

OK just to make matters slightly more confusing/clearer? What if I plan on upgrading to a 1080 full HD tv in the near future would I then be better off, purely on the upscaling issue, in plumping for a Blu Ray S360 or 370?

I know that blu ray is the obvious choice for a full HD tv using its native blu ray discs, there is no competetion.

At least I have disregarded the 1940 now. Progress me thinks.

Thanks again for the help people. Max.

PS I really like the audio on the Denon 1940 when I tried it via my amp and speakers, would the Sony Blu Ray players above do as good a job. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Can't comment on the 1940 but I have an EP30, EP10 and a PS3.

I think early on the Toshiba's had the edge in upscaling and in my view better at SD than the PS3 in terms of picture quality and sound (EP10), the main draw back is/was the slow loading times. I think the later BD players are getting better in this department and the 360 seems to get a lot of votes although the PS3 does seem to hold it's own and is still been used in a lot of high end tests as the BD source.